Adjustable holding floor vise



Sept. 18, 1956 H. w. ENGLISH ADJUSTABLE HOLDING FLOOR VISE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 10. 1952 INVENTOR y M Eny/A's/z BY (Kahuna ATTORNEY Sept. 18, 1956 H. w. ENGLISH 2,763,302

ADJUSTABLE HOLDING FLOOR VISE Filed March 10, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 :IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 15,3 3,2 INVENTOR 1J7 5 flarwy W Eny/ish ATTORNEY United States Patent 2,763,302 AD S B L N OOR Harvey W. English, St. Paul, Minn. Application March 10, 1952 Serial No. 275,700-

1 Claim. (Cl. 144-296) I object to be worked upon, the device being adjust ble over a g ven range best determined for the particular work for which the vise is designed. For instance, in

, carpentry work, where the vise will be used, primarily for holding] doors and windows, the vise may be suitably designedto aecornmodate an object having any thickness or up .to two inches However, it -will be understood that maximum width is only suggestive. u

While my invention contemplatesthe, use of a certain amount of metal, another. object of the invention is to permit the vises forming the subject matter of the instant invention to be made from both wood and metal, it being possible to minimize the quantity of metal empl oyed, if desired, Statedotherwise, it is within the province of this inventionto permit mass production of my vises in a manner best suited to the plant equipment of the individual factory making the item, some factories being equipped for only metal work and others primarily for wood working operations.

Anothe rp seo h v nti resi e in h PIO- vision of flexible clamping means for satisfactorily clampn t ered b ec s A further object of'the invention is to provide adjust,- ing mechanism for my Vises that are relatively inexpensive and Whichmay be conveniently adjustedin a short period of time.

\ A st ill further object, this object being of a comparatively restricted nature, is to provide an auxiliary attachmen t that will permit the holding of a Christmas tree, a flag pole or vother article having arounde d lower end in a usal ash o The above objects, and other objects to be made more apparent hereinafter, are obtained by means of apparatus subsequently to be described and shown in the accompahying drawings, whereini i i Figurel is a perspective view of one form of vise whichmy invention may assume;

esta-2'. is a ew mil to i u 1, bu wh n, i a direction to show the opposite side of the vise from shown in Figurel; i l

Figure 3 is a detail perspective view of the mechanism employed in making the initial adjustment for the size of workto be held; i

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 1 of another embodiment of the invention;

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken in the direction of line 51-5 of Figure 4;

Fi u e 1 is a ec ona e a en ni e rsc en 9 ne 676 of F u e 4;

Figure 7 is a perspective view of an accessory member ho di PYl QQfiGE Wises and ice Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view taken through the center oi the vise pictured in Figure 1, the accessory of Figure 7 being shown in actual use to brace the trunk of asmall tree.

Referring first to Figures 13, the depicted vise A is adapted to rest upon a relatively flat surface, and to facilirate the describing of the vise the numeral 19 represents what is termed a base or frame which includes the leg elements 12 and 14 rigidly joined together by a connecting brace 16. Secured fast to each of the outermost 'oppositeisides of each leg element 12, 14 is a pair of identical end plates 18 and 20, these end plates forming a further part of the frame 19 and each having a recti linear notch 22 (the notch in the plate 2% being the only visible one).

Pivotally carried by the end plates 18 and 20 is a pair ofleggelements 24 and 26. A bar or rod 28 has its'endsfixedly' anchored to the plates 18 and 20 and passes loosely through apertures (the location of one aperture being visible at 30) formed in the leg elements 24 and 26. v This bar or rod 28 provides a recommended pivotal mo nting for these leg elements. Theleg elements 24 and 26 are preferably joined for movement in uni son by a connecting brace 32 corresponding to the brace element 16.

The leg elements 12 and 14 need be provided with only the lower faces 34 and 36 for aiding in the support of the vise A, whereas the leg elements 24 and 2 6 are provided with work engaging faces 38 and 4Q as well as similar vise supporting lower faces 42 and 44. Thus, it will be seen that the vise A rests upon the faces 34,

Q 36, 42 and 44 when placed upon a flat surface.

For apurpose later to be clarified, a pair of adjusting mechanisms or units generally indicated by the numerals 46 ari ilv48 are made fast against the end plates 18 and 20. Since the parts constituting each unit 46 and 48 are functionally the same, only those elements comprising the unit 43 will be described in detail. From Figure Tit will be seen: that the assemblage 48 includes a channel element 50 having inturned marginal flanges 52, 54 and an out-turned end flange 56. Slidably retained by the flanges 52 and 54 is a substantially Z-shaped member 58,'one flange 60 of which is riveted or otherwise secured to a clamping plate element 62 and the other flange 64 of which serves as a bearing for the threadedelement 66, there being an aperture in the flange 64 for this purpose. To assure movement of the member 58in either direction, a pair of spaced collars 67"a nd 68 is provided adjacent each side of the flange 64, these collars being fixedly mounted on an unthreaded portion'of the element 66. An aperture situated at 70 in the flange 56 is' threaded and cooperates with the threads on the element 66 to propel the slidable element 58 in a direction determined by the particular direction in which the'wing nut 74 is rotated. While the clamping plate' 62 has been shown as a separate element which has been fixedly connected to each Z-element 58, it will be appreciated that such plate 62 could be made integral with the elements 58 of the units 46 and 48 when the elements 58 and 62 are made of the same material.

In use, assuming that a plank or other object 78 is to be clamped in the vise A, the wing nuts 74- of the adjusting units46 and 48 are turned until the clamping plate 62 is contiguous with, or slightly spaced from, the plank 78. In that the leg elements 24 and 26 press against the other side of the plank 78, such engagement will urge the plank78 against the plate 62, this action being attributable to the fact that a force is transmitted via the faces 42 and 44,,through theelements 24 and 26 to the faces 38 andAO, due to the combined weight of the vise A, the

plank 7S and any downward force applied to the plank the course of working thereon.

Although the pivotal action of the leg elements 24 and 26 can compensate to a certain extent for different thicknesses of work or planks 78, it should be explained that by initially adjusting the plate 62 for the approximate thickness of work to be accommodated any tendency for the work being held to wobble is practically eliminated. This stems from the fact that in effect the notches 22 in the end plates 18 and 20 are made smaller so that the opposite surfaces of the plank are in contact, or approximately so, with the plate 62 and the side edges of the notches 22, i. e., the sides of the notches 22 subjacent the clamping faces 38 and 40, of the leg elements 24 and 26. In this way, the work 78 may always be easily removed without disturbing the adjusted condition of the units 46 and 48, yet the work or plank 78 will remain steady during a planing or other Work performing operation, since any tendency to tilt will be effectively resisted by the combined efforts of the clamping faces 38 and 40, the notches 22, and the clamping plate 62.

Describing now a modified version of my invention, reference should be had to the Vise illustrated in Figures 4, 5, and 6. In this embodiment the frame means indicated generally by the numeral 80 includes a pair of leg elements 82 and 84 having lower faces 86, 88 and upper faces 90, 92, the upper faces 90, 92 in this embodiment being designed to engage one side of the work to be clamped. As in the previously described embodiment A, the frame means 80 further includes a brace 94 holding the leg elements 82 and 84 in a longitudinally spaced relation. Also included as part of the frame means 80 are a pair of end members 96 and 98, essentially triangular in elevation and channel shaped in cross-section (as seen in Figure The channeled end members 96 and 98 are respectively secured fast to the sides of the leg elements 82 and 84. As best seen from Figure 5, the member 98 is provided with an inwardly sheared and bent tooth 100 for a purpose presently to be described. The tooth 100 may assume a variety of forms, but may be conveniently made by a simple stamping process when using sheet metal, as pictured here. Positioned above the tooth 100 and nearer to the plane containing the clamping face 92 is a pin 102. The purpose of the tooth 100 and the pin 102 will be explained shortly, but it should be understood at this point that these elements are only duplicated on the member 96, since the members 96 and 98 both function in the same manner.

A pair of transverse arms 104 and 106 are displaceably embraced by the members 96 and 98, these arms having a series of notches 108 distributed along their As will be seen from an inspection of two of the notches in arm 106 are visible, the other notches in this arm 106 being shown in dotted None of the notches in the arm 104 can be seen, however, but it will be appreciated that the notches being selectively engageable in any of the notches 108, for a purpose later explained in more detail. If desired, more than one tooth 100 may be utilized, provided the spacing corresponds to the spacing of the notches 108. Of course the pin 102, actually one foreach end member 96 and 98 as hereinbefore stated, is positioned at an elevation corresponding to the height of the arm 104 and being that the pin 102 is off-set from the plane on which the section view shown in Figure 5 is taken, it will be quite apparent that the tooth 100 (or teeth, if desired) may be engaged with other notches than the particular one shown by merely tilting the notched portion of the arm 98 upwardly, the pin 102 permitting such manipulation, so that the arm 106 may be moved relative to the end member 98 and a different notch 108 then selected.

Describing the arm 106 in more detail, it will be noted that this arm 106 is generally channel-shaped with the base web 110 being uppermost for the purpose of sup porting the work (not shown) which could be the plank 78 or other object, such as a window or door.

Equivalent to the leg elements 24 and 26 of the vise A is a pair of leg elements 116 and 118 connected rigidly together by a brace 120 and having lower supporting faces 122, 124 and upper clamping faces 126, 128, respectively. Loosely passing through an aperture (one being indicated at 129 in Figure 6) in each leg element 116 and 118 is a pivot bar or rod 130. The ends of the bar 130 may be each equipped with an enlarged head as shown at 131, or the ends may be merely welded to the end members 104 and 106. Since the fabrication of the flanges 112 on each arm 104 and 106 renders it unfeasible to make the ends of the arms 104 and 106, which carry the rod 130, channel-shaped, a spacer 132 preferably circumscribes the rod 130 to hold the arm 106 in spaced relation to the leg element 118 and consequently in alignment with the channeled end member 98.

The use of the vise B is thought to be obvious from the foregoing description. In order to prevent undesired wobbling or tilting of the Work, the arms 104 and 106 are first moved inwardly or outwardly relative to the end members 96 and 98, the particular notch 108 employed governing the actual width of the notch 114 which cradles the lower edge of the work to be clamped. By adjusting the two arms 104 and 106 to provide a notch 114 equivalent to the approximate thickness of the Work, it will be apparent that the pivotal mounting of the leg same manner as do the leg elements 24 and 26 at the first described vise A.

ing member 134 is pictured, this member 134 being especially designed to render the vise A suitable for supporting a Christmas tree in an erect position, the trunk 136 thereof being illustrated in Figure 8 when being so held by the vise A. The upper region 138 resembles to a certain extent the clamping plate 62 and is intended to be engaged by the clamping faces 38 and 40 of the pivotal leg elements 24 and 26. At locations 140 and 142 the member 134 is notched so as to provide projecting end portions 144 and 146 which can be supported in the notch 22 at each end of the vise A. Particularly where the member 134 is fairly rigid, it is most desirable to provide a vertical groove 148 for the purpose of partially encircling the trunk 136, the groove 148 serving to steady the tree. At the bottom of the member 134 is a tray or receptacle 150 into which the trunk 136 depends and in which a quantity of water 152 is contained whereby the tree may be kept as fresh as possible.

In using the vise A as a Christmas tree holder, the auxiliary member 134 is first lowered into the position illustrated in Figure 8 when the clamping plate 62 is backed as far away from the jaw faces 38 and 40 as is necessary to eliminate interference between the tray 150 and the clamping plate 62, the clamping plate 62 being movable by turning the wing nuts 74 on the actuating units 46 and 48. After setting the plate 62 for the approximate size of trunk 136, said trunk is placed between the upper portion 138 of the member 134 at the situs of the groove 148 and the clamping plate 62, further adjustment of the wing nuts 74 then being made, if necessary, to obtain a snug grip on the trunk 136; the action of the pivotally mounted leg elements 24and 26'is then the same as when the plank 78 is being held. As a practical matter, it is preferable that both members 62 and 134 be capable of flexing, thereby better to grip the trunk 136. Any resiliency of the plate 62 in no way lessens the effective clamping action of this member during the normal usage represented in Figures 1 and 2, and actually any inherent ability to flex permits tapering objects to be clamped in that either the adjusting unit 46 or 48 may be farther advanced than the other to compensate for the particular taper that might be encountered.

The foregoing description is furnished by way of illustration and not of limitation, and it is therefore my intention that the invention be limited only by the appended claims or their equivalents wherein I have endeavored to claim broadly all inherent novelty.

I claim:

A floor vise comprising a pair of longitudinally spaced leg elements at one side of the vise provided with foot portions adapted to engage a supporting surface and clamping portions adapted to engage one face of a member to be clamped, and means rigidly connecting said leg elements in spaced relation, a channel member fixedly connected to each leg element at the ends of the vise, said channel members carrying notch-engaging means in the base thereof, an elongated member receivable in each of said channel members and provided with notch means cooperable with the said notch-engaging means of said channel members, fixed means carried by each channel member above said respective elongated members for holding said elongated members from lateral movement in said chann leg elements a foot portions adapted to en els, a second pair of longitudinally spaced t the other side of the vise provided With gage a supporting surface and clamping portions adapted to engage the other face of the member to be clamped, said second pair of leg e and means pivotally connecting lements to said elongated members, whereby said cooperable notch means permit approximate adjustment of said pairs of leg the accommodation member to be clampe thereafter urge said me other pair of leg elements.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Anderson Feb. 27, Brintnall Feb. 13, Spires Dec. 31, Halladay Nov. 22, Landreth Feb. 28, Schultz Nov. 30, Hill Feb. 3, Sampson June 3, Olson Aug. 24, Froblom Jan. 21, Sutter Nov. 8, Sasgen Dec. 13, Fordon Dec. 16,

elements for the particular thickness of the d and said pivotally'mounted legs mber to be clamped against the 

